Learning Through Internships: Connecting Students’ Passions to the Real World

Explore five ways to adapt internships (from field trips to shadow days), or follow nine steps to make Nashville Big Picture High School’s internship program your own.

August 16, 2016

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Schools That Work

Nashville Big Picture High School

Public, Urban
Grades 9-12
Nashville, TN

Nashville Big Picture High School — a public, urban school in Nashville, Tennessee — is one of 65 U.S. schools in the Big Picture Network. Big Picture’s philosophy puts students at the center of their own learning through personalized learning projects, advisory, and internships two days a week. The school’s commitment to helping students explore their passions in a real-world context shows in their high engagement — a 95 percent attendance rate and a 98 percent graduation rate. See how it works in this one-minute video.

  • Achieved a 90% graduation rate in 2014 and 98% in 2015.
  • Outperformed the district and the state on the TCAP English I standardized test every year since 2013.
  • Network wide, Big Picture Learning students are more likely to persist in college and earn degrees than students from equivalent backgrounds nationally.

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Filed Under

  • Interest-Based Learning
  • Career & Technical Education
  • Community Partnerships
  • 9-12 High School

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